These are some really sad pictures. And the juxtaposition of the evening dresses and tuxedos against the grim, almost Dickensian backdrop makes them even more dramatic. 41.5% living in poverty - it's almost as if the twentieth and twenty-first centuries passed these people by and left none of their growth or prosperity behind.

I think I would have expected the nation's poorest county to be Shannon in South Dakota.

Quite. It usually is.

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However, the community of 5,000 struggles with unemployment because of the decline in coal, tobacco and timber industries. Health issues include drug addiction without effective treatment.

Which party hates these industries more? (and rightfulyl so, I might add)

Why do plenty of coal and timber counties still vote Democratic then?

Not too many in presidential elections. I'm expecting Obama to lose every county in WV in November. Coal has had a terrible four years. Has more to do with the natural gas boom than anything else, but there's a perception that Obama's EPA is to blame.

They've always been Republican. This isn't because of social issues or whatever, but because they were anti-secession in the Civil War, and like Eastern Tennessee, have always voted GOP.

And because it's not a coal county. Those went over to the Democrats during the New Deal.

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Unionist Stronghold, not that uncommon in Appalachia. It made sense for them to vote Republican in the late 19th century. Why they still vote that way is the real question. What's funny is that Romney will almost certainly win the county with over 75% of the vote, despite his recent comments.

Most of the Unionist strongholds don't seem to vote Republican at all anymore, which makes me sad. I'm a Republican largely because of that Unionist loyalty, although I don't really come from a Republican family.

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Quote from: Dwight D. Eisenhower

There is nothing wrong with America that the faith, love of freedom, intelligence, and energy of her citizens cannot cure.

Why didn't Jackson County get the honors? It was touted as the poorest yet most pro Nixon county in the United States in 1960. That is why I visited it in college. And yes, it was a visit to Deliverance. I went back 5 years ago. The fast food franchise culture had killed off Deliverance. It no longer was a very good movie set.

This area didn't go Dem during the Depression, because the Depression did not affect the economy much there. There was no market economy there. It was subsistence farming and moon shining. The Depression did not change that.

Interestingly, Jackson County did vote for Teddy Roosevelt in 1912, and with over 50% too. But if the economy is like that it's tough to pin down why he'd have special appeal over Taft (it was the only Roosevelt county in that area too, all the surrounding ones on the south and sides went Taft except one very narrowly for Wilson, and all the northern ones for Wilson.)

Interestingly, Jackson County did vote for Teddy Roosevelt in 1912, and with over 50% too. But if the economy is like that it's tough to pin down why he'd have special appeal over Taft (it was the only Roosevelt county in that area too, all the surrounding ones on the south and sides went Taft except one very narrowly for Wilson, and all the northern ones for Wilson.)

Some kind of personal connection most likely - a local Republican bigwig coming down in Roosevelt's support.

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